Humanitarian Relief

Our Humanitarian Aid programmes provide water, shelter and emergency aid to thousands of Palestinian refugees. Our Social Welfare programme provides food and financial assistance to families unable to meet their daily basic needs; as well as supporting over 8,000 children through sponsorships.

Overview

HOW WE HELP

Video

SUMMERY

Water

£40 – TANK

Shelter

& HOUSING

Food

£35 – FOOD PARCEL

Financial

MONEY / VOUCHERS

Humanitarian Relief

Our Humanitarian Aid programmes provide water, shelterand emergency aid to thousands of Palestinian refugees. Our Social Welfare programme provides foodand financialassistance to families unable to meet their daily basic needs; as well as supporting over 8,000 children through sponsorships.

Water Aid

Access to clean, safe drinking water

Access to sanitation and clean drinking water is a human right that many Palestinians are denied.

Palestinians have no control over water resources and access to water is prevented due to restrictions on movement and the destruction of infrastructure. Families are forced to drink highly contaminated water or buy clean water supplied by private tankers: a choice that most Palestinians cannot afford to make.

The water supplies in Gaza contain contaminants including high levels of nitrates which pose serious health risks to babies and children (World Bank Report, April 2009). 95% of the water in Gaza’s aquifer is contaminated and unfit for consumption.

Because of lack of treatment capacity and electricity, Gaza authorities must release around 80,000 cubic meters of sewage into the Mediterranean Sea on a daily basis. Raw sewage is present on the streets and flooding causes further problems on the ground for people in already squalid refugee camps.

In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians must cope with severe restrictions on water use and only have access to well below the daily allowance as recommended the World Health Organisation. In the refugee camps of Lebanon, the poor infrastructure and general condition of the camps has meant that clean water is rare and people must rely on expensive bottled water.

Interpal provides Palestinian families and communities with much needed water tanks and refills. Palestinians are still in desperate need of help.

Shelter and Housing

Over 66% of the entire Palestinian population are displaced- more than 58% of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and 42% in the West Bank are refugees[i]. The mass displacement of Palestinians is exasperated by arbitrary house demolitions, protracted violence against the Palestinian population and the loss of income within a family due to economic restrictions across the Occupied Territories.

The destruction of homes and mosques across the Occupied Territories can have severely damaging effects on Palestinians’ sense of familial and community security. It is estimated that recovery from the devastation take years of recovery.

During and after an emergency takes place, Interpal provides shelter support to thousands of Palestinians who have been forcibly displaced due to the destruction or demolition of their homes.

Interpal helps families find new shelter, rebuild their homes and provide financial assistance for those who are unable to pay for rent due to a loss of income. We also support displaced families sheltering in schools across Gaza to distribute one month’s supply of food aid.

To provide a Palestinian family with urgent shelter support, donate to Interpal now:

£200 provides financial aid to a family unable to pay their rent

£3500 you help rehabilitate a family’s home

Food Aid

Food: the basic human need that thousands of Palestinians struggle to meet on a daily basis.

1.6 million Palestinians are food insecure. In Gaza, more than half (57%) of the population are suffering from a lack of food[i].

The majority of Palestinians are forced to change their food consumption patterns in order to simply survive. This usually means that Palestinians are forced to generally eat less food, substitute nutritious food with cheaper items of less nutritional value, take their children out of school to reduce expenditures and forego healthcare altogether.

Over the years, your donations have enabled Interpal to provide thousands of needy Palestinians with food parcels packed full of essential products for an entire month. Interpal has offered hot meals to the poorest communities, and donated gifts and entertainment to needy children and orphans.

As part of our seasonal campaign work (including Ramadan and Qurbani), we support thousands of families across our areas of operation. We provide vouchers for families so they can buy food and supplies, deliver parcels with staple food items, arrange collective iftars for special groups during Ramadan and organise Qurbanis for poor

When possible, we will always prioritise locally sourced products to support local farmers and producers whilst boosting the desperate economy.

Financial Aid

In the Occupied Territories, over 40% of the Palestinian population are classified as poor, whilst 16% cannot afford the minimum required calorie intake. 15% of the population are malnourished: a rate that is rapidly increasing[i]. With unemployment rates chronically high, and freedom of movement severely restricted for most Palestinians, the opportunity to meet the minimal needs for survival are severely compromised.

In the West Bank, Palestinians have lost access to their land, groundwater and grazing land. A matrix of infrastructural control and restrictions (including checkpoints, roadblocks and a segregated road system) make travelling for work impossible. For those who want to access their own farmland behind the apartheid wall, visitor permits are rarely granted, further stifling an already strangled economy. According to World Bank reports, restrictions in the West Bank cost the Palestinian economy £2.1bn a year. The unemployment rate stands at 18.2% in the West Bank[ii] and youth unemployment is extremely high.

In Gaza, as a result of the blockade, the Palestinian economy is entire strangled with limited or no access to imported goods, clean drinking water, electricity, employment, fisheries and farmland. Unemployment in Gaza has risen to almost 40.8%[iii] per cent and Gazans are completely reliant on humanitarian assistance for food. Access to healthcare is also severely restricted.